Bucharest Airports

The tourist platform of Bucharest is serviced by two airports: Henri Coandă International Airport (Otopeni) and Aurel Vlaicu Airport (Băneasa). Depending on what kind of flight visitors opt for (charter, low-cost or business class), as well as on the place from where they start their journey, they can land at either of these airports, since the airport transfer services are just as reliable.

Otopeni and Băneasa are administrated by the same company, CNAB (Compania Naţională de Aeroporturi Bucureşti, meaning the National Company of Airports of Bucharest).

Henri Coandă International Airport

Also known as Otopeni Airport, after the town where the airport is located, Henri Coandă Airport was built in the late 1960s, and since then it underwent significant enlargement and restoration works, mainly in the 1990s, a much awaited facelift designed to accommodate the ever so increasing flow of tourists passing through the airport after the fall of the Communist regime.

At present, Henri Coandă International Airport is the larger of the two airports of Bucharest, accommodating the activity of several major airline companies, such as Austrian Airlines, Air France, British Airlines, Tarom and Finnair. These companies provide connections with cities like Vienna, Milan, Istanbul, Dublin, Athens, Dubai and Madrid. The airport is also used for domestic airline connections (Timişoara, Iaşi, Cluj).

Passengers can benefit from a wide range of services: banking services, money exchange, postal services, car rental, just to count a few. Exchanging money at the airport is not the best solution, since the rates are quite disadvantageous. Shopping too can prove to be quite expensive. On the other hand, the Henri Coandă International Airport is fitted such as to comply with the needs of people with reduced mobility, making available a range of special services this category of passengers can rely on.

The airport features two car parks, one at the Arrivals Terminal, and the other at the Departures Terminal. Neither of these is available for free parking.

Airport transfers from Henri Coandă International Airport

In order to get from Henri Coandă International Airport to the city (taking into account the airport is located some 16 kilometers north from the center of Bucharest), tourists can get the train, the bus or a taxi.

One of the two bus lines is suggestively called Express 783, and it links the airport to Piaţa Unirii (Union Square), while making stops at different other important public places, such as Piaţa Romană, Piaţa Universităţii, Piaţa Victoriei, Aurel Vlacu Airport included. The bus is available weekdays from 5.30am to 11pm (leaving from the terminal every 15 minutes until 8pm and every half an hour after 8pm) and weekends and public holidays from 5.30am to 11pm (with a 30-minute frequency).

The other bus line, Expres 780, links to airport to infrastructural points of reference like Băneasa Airport and the North Train Station. The bus travels weekdays and weekends with a 30-minute frequency, between 6am and 10.30pm.

The Henri Coandă Expres Trains make a direct connection to the North Train Station. The POA train station (Punct Oprire Aeroport, meaning Airport Train Station) is located 2 kilometers from the terminals, and passengers are shuttled from the terminals to POA by buses which travel with the same frequency as the Henri Coandă Expres Train. Tickets can be purchased from the International Arrivals Terminal, from the ticket sale points located at the North Train Station, as well as from the CFR agencies.

Finally, taking a taxi is always a solution at hand for passengers who land at Henri Coandă International Airport, mostly at night when no other means of transport are available. Note that all the taxis available at the airport's taxi stand are licensed to operate by the airport authorities, which is reassuring for people worried about stumbling on sham taxi drivers.

Aurel Vlaicu International Airport

Aurel Vlaicu International Airport is commonly referred to as Băneasa Airport. It is managed by the same CNAB which manages the other international airport of Bucharest, and its main advantage is it is located within the confines of the city proper, some 8 kilometers north of the center of Bucharest.

Unlike Henri Coandă Airport, Băneasa Airport is the hub of the low-cost airline companies which operate flights to and from Bucharest. Thus, Wizz Air, Nouvelair, Blue Air, German Wings and Koral Blue Airlines link Bucharest to destinations like Austria, France, Belgium, Germany, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Tunis, Great Britain and Ireland, providing passengers with a less expensive manner of traveling from virtually the entire Europe (and not only) to Romania.

The airport is also frequently used for charter flights.

The main drawback of Băneasa Airport is, though older than its counterpart (it was built in the early 20th century), it did not keep up with the development of the business and leisure tourism in Romania, such that at present the flow of passengers overwhelms the actual infrastructural means of the airport. The restoration works carried out in 2007 did not change much of the airport, though the long awaited refurbishment did endow the venue with new facilities.

Speaking of facilities and services, the airport is fitted for the access of people with reduced mobility (the terminal, the car parks), as well as it provides, on request, special assistance to this category.

Airport transfers from Aurel Vlaicu International Airport

There are plenty of public transport means tourists can resort to in order to get from Băneasa Airport to sundry other locations in Bucharest, mostly due to the fact the airport is located within the administrative confines of the city. 5 bus lines (131, 335, 148, 112 and 301), one tram line (5), as well as a metro line (M2) can be used in this respect. Indeed, the airport area is excellently irrigated from the point of view of the public transport, but, on top of that, tourists can also use the Expres 783 line which links Henri Coandă Airport to Piaţa Unirii, since the buses covering this line make a stop at Băneasa Airport. The other express bus line, 780, can also be taken into account.

Taxis are also available outside the airport building. The taxi stand is available only to authorized vehicles, which is, again, fairly reassuring, especially at night when the public transport does not operate.